Audi

Gymnasts

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The ultra-smooth mechanisms of a working engine are recreated in a breathtaking sequence of perfectly synchronized gymnastics in this impressive 60-second commercial made to introduce the most powerful road car in the company’s history, the high-performance Audi RS 6 Avant. Gymnasts was devised by BBH and shot in Budapest by LA-based director Paul Hunter, with Flame and telecine courtesy of Yourick Van Impe and Mick Vincent at The Mill.

Yourick, keen to understand the director's creative vision, worked with Paul on the pre-vis, tests and overall planning, and attended the rehearsal and shoot at the sound stage in Budapest. Back at The Mill, he worked on some 40 shots. For the sequence in which gymnasts depict the car's headlights, performances were shot separately, put together in three passes and duplicated for a mirror image. Soft flares added texture, shadow and the illusion of glowing headlights. For most sequences, performances were shot separately, then layered to create more gymnasts, all apparently moving in unison.

Thanks to DoP, Alex Barber's beautiful lighting, Yourick and Mick had a great 35-mm film negative to work with. They provided a bleached monochrome grade, and added shadows, flares and textures to soften the overall feel and give the film a richly saturated monochrome look. Mill 3D artist Han Ter Park created the hoop shot in Maya.